A Monster Hit

Discovery Channel's Steve Watson talks shop

Interior designers know the difference between decorating schemes that are in for the kitchen and which ones should be tossed out the kitchen window. For reality-television interior designers, the first toss out the window is often logic. Discovery Channel's Monster House is no exception. Past projects for the show have included an homage to the Three Stooges and an in-home police station. Monster House's foreman, Steve Watson, will make special appearances throughout the Fort Worth Home & Garden Show, explaining the why-in-the-worlds and what-the-hells of reality-television décor. The show also features pools and spas, landscape and garden displays, a gourmet cooking stage and a Saturday appearance by Tom Parsons of Bestfares.com. The Fort Worth Home & Garden Show is from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Fort Worth Convention Center, 1201 Houston St., Fort Worth. Admission is $6 to $8. Free admission for children under 12. Call 1-800-654-1480 or visit www.texashomeandgarden.com. --Stephanie Durham

Flying Machines 2/19

Just what we needed. Another reason to dislike children. In addition to their smell and their small grubby hands, there's this: Only little snots in grades five through eight can attend the Frontiers of Flight's Glider Workshop from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. What, men in their 40s don't get supplies to build their very own balsa wood gliders? Is that like a rule or something? NO FAIR! The museum is at 6911 Lemmon Ave., and the cost is $13 to $15. Call 214-350-3600. And if you see a 5-foot-11 bearded "eighth-grader" with crow's-feet there, ignore him. He has a thyroid condition. Yeah, that's it. --Patrick Williams

Rapping About Raptors 2/19

We're cool with large birds; it's the annoying little birds that creep us out. Blue jays that swoop down and peck us, starlings that carpet bomb us with crap as they fly overhead, pigeons that attempt to share our brunch at a sidewalk cafe. But the big birds of prey are the ones that elicit our respect and admiration. (You've gotta give props to birds that can snatch a poodle for lunch.) Texas Discovery Gardens explores the world of every size bird in From Raptors to Songbirds, a program that features live raptors and information on identifying and attracting other types of local birds. Hawks, owls and falcons will be visiting from the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center, an organization seeking to promote "appreciation of the vital role that raptors play maintaining a healthy ecosystem." All ages are invited to be bird-brained at Texas Discovery Gardens, 3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Fair Park, at 10 a.m. Saturday. Adult admission is $3, seniors get in for $2 and children ages 3 to 11 are admitted for $1.50. Call 214-428-7476. --Michelle Martinez